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Sen. Ben McAdams, who is considered a straight ally of the LGBT community, has a new opponent in his race to lead state Senate District 2, which covers the Avenues and other parts of Salt Lake City. Melvin Nimer, the openly gay president of the Utah Log Cabin Republicans, has been picked by Republicans as a last-minute replacement for Nancie Lee Davis who was disqualified after she failed to file a financial disclosure.

McAdams was appointed to the Senate earlier this year to replace Sen. Scott McCoy, the Utah's first openly gay state senator and a Democrat.

McAdams, an adviser to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker who worked on the capital's landmark anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender residents, has been endorsed by Equality Utah.

But Nimer also supports equal rights for the gay and transgender community. And he's a member of the most powerful group in the Utah Legislature: the GOP.